The Dragon's Weyr
by Annikaya
Summary: She was supposed to be dead...but she wasn't. And now Meiran is on a quest to find her husband.
1. Default Chapter

_Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing and I make no profit off of this story._

She was supposed to be dead. Dressed in the ceremonial robes, resting with her ancestors, free of the mortal shell at last. She was supposed to reside in a field and in a suit, looking out for him, not looking for him.

But she wasn't dead.

Chang Meiran wasn't dead.

It had been a close thing and she still didn't know why she was alive. When she had been injured and lay dying in her husband's arms her pulse became so slow as to be undetectable and her breath so faint that it could not be felt. But somewhere inside her there had still been a spark of life. Perhaps the god she had styled herself after had lent her some strength, some luck, some healing power. Perhaps the protector of the clan had deemed her worthy.

She had been found and nursed back to health, everyone else thinking her dead. She had missed her own funeral and the mourning for a life cut so short. She had missed the praise for fighting to protect the colony. And when she had recovered WuFei was no where to be found.

"Chang WuFei has taken Gundam Shenlong."

Well, she hadn't expected him to stay still and make this easy. He never made anything easy. It was, perhaps, why Meiran was planning on looking for him. She never had liked things easy. Besides, he needed her around to tell him how wrong he was all the time.

"I will find him." She vowed, that same stubborn determination she'd always had etched into her every line.

"He will be hard to find. Do you wish to undertake such a pursuit?"

An angry scowl crossed her face. "He may be a jerk but he is my husband."

The other bowed in acceptance. "A shuttle is waiting for you."

Chang Meiran got on that shuttle and began to search for her missing husband. And when she found him, she determined, he was in for a very large talking-to.

_Please review! Otherwise I think you didn't read this or didn't like it and it makes me sad. But if you review I'll be happy and then I'll smile and make someone else happy and you'll have improved the general well-being for the whole planet. Look at the power you have!_


	2. Chapter Two

"He has come home."

"It's about time!" Meiran exclaimed, punching the air excitedly with one fist. She had thought she might never find her wayward husband. For all that the Gundams were often in the news, they were remarkably hard to find. That undoubtedly made them safer but it also made Meiran extremely frustrated. Now though...now she could finally catch up with WuFei, tell him she was alive, and fight by his side.

Maybe he wouldn't want her to fight by him. She was, after all, a woman and had been beaten by him before. But she could learn. She was learning. There was a cause worth fighting for out there and, even if she wasn't strong, she wanted to fight for justice with him. She knew she could do it.

But first... Meiran looked down at her outfit and smirked. She would need to change her clothes. She definitely wanted to surprise WuFei when she arrived. After all, it wasn't every day that someone's dead wife returns and she wanted him to know that she really had missed him and that he really hadn't missed her enough.

She grinned again and set in a course for the colony.

She had taken a short nap so she would be fresh and it was a beeping from the console that woke her. Worried that something was wrong she hurried to the cockpit expecting to find a navigational glitch or that the coffee maker was broken or something else equally nominal in importance.

Instead she stared out the window at the wreck of a colony. There would be no life there, no family, no field of flowers, no hidden Gundam, no WuFei.

Desperately she flew at the controls to the shuttle, somehow thinking if she believed it hard enough that she would have accidentally gone to some other colony, some other sector, some other waking nightmare that didn't really belong to her. That it was an accident. That her home wasn't really destroyed.

But the colony stayed there past the shuttle's bubble of warmth and air, stuck in the cold heartlessness of space. Its own broken, shattered pieces floated about it. The numbers and letters on the shuttle's controls confirmed what she didn't want to believe.

And Meiran fell to the floor of the shuttle, missing the pilot's seat entirely. The floor was cold and the little designs in it built for traction bit into her skin but she didn't care. Her eyes swimming with tears, they remained fixed on the broken twisted pieces of metal where the people she knew had died.

WuFei had escaped her again.

_Obviously WuFei isn't dead and she'll figure that out eventually. I'm so excited that people seem to be liking this! It makes me so happy. Anyway, please review!_


	3. Chapter Three

The ceiling was really very interesting at this time of night. One could barely make out the individual tiles as they furred and blurred in the lack of light. It made counting them very hard. As there were about 72 of them, it was easy to lose count.

Meiran was counting them for the third time.

Obviously she couldn't sleep. Indecision was warring in her mind and she couldn't rest while her course of action was unsecured. Choices gnawed at her mind every time she closed her eyes and she was as tense as a coiled spring.

She knew where her husband was.

Oh, she'd discovered that he was alive soon after she'd had that horrible moment aboard her shuttle all those years ago. But after such a close call and after the destruction of the colony she had realized that it was foolish to chase him. Not while a war was going on and not while he could be destroyed before her very eyes. She couldn't let herself catch him only to watch him die. Besides, he would have chided her on being so weak as to chase him and to waste her time. So she had given up her search, found someplace to live, and tried very hard not to watch the news reports that might detail his death. She really didn't want to know.

But she knew he was alive and knew where he was right now. She really hadn't meant to find out but with the Gundams out of the news and the government being so steady now, she had started to tune into the news again. She hadn't thought to see a special on the Preventors with him right in the forefront.

She wanted to see him.

"Meiran, are you or are you not a warrior?" she asked herself angrily, sitting up and letting the bedclothes finally fall in their twisted agony to the floor. "Warriors confront their problems head on."

She slid open her dresser drawer and took out the upside down photo of WuFei from its hiding place-the only such photo she kept.

"But...you looked happy. I can't destroy that for you." She muttered to herself. "Not even for me."

She put the photo back and closed the drawer again.

Well, confronting things _nearly_ head-on would work too, wouldn't it?

"Ms. Chin?"

"Please, call me Mary." Meiran smiled brightly behind her fake glasses and makeup, patting her upswept hair in a nervous gesture.

The man in the khaki Preventor uniform smiled back. "Mary, my name's Ardon Kain. I know we'll be able to work together wonderfully." He adopted a less formal tone. "Some of the guys are kind of intense but you learn to get along with them, so don't let it bother you."

"What do you mean?" she asked, curious.

Ardon suddenly looked a bit uncomfortable, as though he was wishing he hadn't said anything. She thought perhaps he was the type to think without speaking and let anything out. She resolved then not to tell him anything she wanted kept secret, but she had never been one to confide much in others anyway. Perhaps that was why she and WuFei had always argued so much, neither understanding what the other wanted.

"Well...just...some of the guys were really involved in the war, you know?"

She wanted to keep him talking, extract every crumb of information from him and find out exactly what he meant but she knew that wouldn't work. She had learned perhaps a little of patience from not chasing her husband. She had learned that not everything had to happen all at once. So she didn't reply to her new partner's comment and let him change the subject, seeing the relief in his face.

"Well, I suppose I'd better take you on the grand tour then." Ardon brushed his strawberry blonde hair from out of his eyes and held open his office door for her.

"Hey A.K.! You givin' the newbie the tour?" A bright chipper voice called out.

Meiran turned to see a young man no older than herself with an impossible long braid trailing behind him and a cheerful have-at-em grin on his face.

"Yup. Mary, meet Duo Maxwell. Duo, meet Mary Chin, the Preventor's newest agent."

"You gonna do all the introductions and everything?" Duo asked, one eyebrow raised. "'Cause we could use some more girls around here and Heero's always scaring them off."

"Err...no, I wasn't." Ardon looked a little unnerved and Meiran scoffed that any one man could be so dangerous or intimidating. After all, Preventors were supposed to be strong, were they not?

Duo snickered. "See ya round kids." He turned and meandered away. Somehow Meiran got the feeling that he wasn't heading toward his office or any other form of work. Duo Maxwell seemed be one of those types to get work done without ever being seen actually doing it.

"Don't mind Duo. He has a strange sense of humor." Ardon said, looking back nervously at Meiran. "Calls himself Shinigami half the time. But I suppose he and his buddies are entitled to be a little weird."

Meiran waved a hand dismissively. "I would not let a one mere man distract me from my goals."

Ardon shrugged and started to lead her around the building, pointing out various rooms and structures.

"And lastly, we have the training room." Ardon said, opening the heavy door for the both of them to enter. His voice echoed a bit as it met the high ceiling of the room.

She peered under his arm, not yet stepping foot into the room. She could see mats set out and a door that led off into changing rooms but what caught her attention was the man using the floor space, the white practice uniform, the studied grace and precision of movement, the antique heirloom katana, the black hair held back in a stiff ponytail, the severe expression of concentration on the face she hadn't seen for so long.

Abruptly she became aware if the curious stare from her new partner as she did not enter the room with him but stood staring in the door.

"Ah...should we go in? We don't want to disturb him." She covered.

Ardon's face cleared of that questioning look. "Oh no. It's ok. Preventor Chang's just finishing up. See the computer sign-in on the door there?"

"Oh." Hesitantly she stepped through the still open door and resolutely ignored the face that she'd longed to see for so long. She was strong and she was not going to give into her weak desires and womanly wants just because she was seeing him again.

"He's really good." Ardon said softly to her. "I've never seen anyone else do what he can with that blade."

Meiran shrugged. "I don't fancy swords that much." Which was true, she'd always fancied hand to hand combat. Not that she'd held up so well against her husband in that field either.

"So, what made you decide to join the Preventors anyway?" Ardon asked casually, his tone one of friendly, idle curiosity.

She watched WuFei bow to an invisible partner and make his way over to one of the benches to collect his towel.

"Justice." She said. She hadn't meant to say that, hadn't meant to say anything that might lead WuFei to even look at her but the words just slipped out.

_You're only here to see him. To see if he's happy. To see how he is, you fool! You're so weak!_ She berated herself. Still, when WuFei's eyes flickered right past her without seeing her she felt her heart plummet down to her toes.

"Uh...ok." It was clear Ardon didn't understand what she meant but she didn't care to enlighten him. "We'll go out those far doors there so I can show you the other equipment." They began crossing the room, passing by the bench where WuFei was now gathering up his water bottle and katana sheath, his towel slung around his shoulders. As they passed, he looked up to meet them both with his stern gaze.

"Do you really think Justice exists?"

Inside she quailed at those words, at those sharp eyes that had spoken such scornful and similar words so long ago.

"_Justice exists only for one's **convenience...**A battle grounded on such a thing is pointless." _He had said then.

"Yes." She said fiercely. "I do." And she dared him to contradict her.

His expression didn't change. "Good." He started to walk away but just before he slipped out the door, he spoke again without turning around. "You'll do well here."

Meiran was left staring speechlessly at the door he'd disappeared through.

_Alright, now I'm going to answer some questions I got. Someone asked why Meiran didn't die when the colony was destroyed. If you remember, those were two separate events. The colony was attacked while Meiran was piloting the Gundam and was injured, and according to the manga, died. However, the attack was canceled because Treize liked the idea of a Gundam fighting to protect the colonies. The colony was destroyed later in a different battle when WuFei went back to visit. All clear?_

_Anyway, I hope you liked and haven't forgotten about me and this little story. Please review!_


	4. Chapter Four

She stared at the mirror hard, the makeup case sitting open and untouched on the bathroom counter. Her own face stared accusingly back at her from the slightly fogged mirror, taunting her with a face she could not show at work.

"I can't do this" She whispered to herself. _"It's too late to tell him."_ And she thought, I should just give up. Just disappear and try to forget.

But the face with her mother's pert nose and her father's high cheekbones stared back at her, the heredity of a family line of warriors.

_No, you will not give up. You will stay and watch him and protect his happiness. You will be strong and you will never tell him who you are. You are a warrior!_

And she picked up the mascara.

She didn't see WuFei for awhile after that first day. Instead she found herself quite busy trying to get used to being a Preventor and trying to understand her laidback partner. She didn't go out of her way to see the former Gundam pilot-it would have aroused his suspicion if a new recruit began following him around.

That didn't mean she didn't know how he was. Duo Maxwell was constantly popping in and out of everywhere, telling tall tales of all of his friends. Meiran didn't pretend to understand the man who took nothing seriously but she could tell he was a loyal friend, which she admired.

"Hey Mary! Did you see your new assignment?" Ardon interrupted her thoughts. His tone was full of good natured envy.

She turned abruptly, surprised. "No. Why?"

"You must have attracted somebody's attention. You're getting paired with Chang for awhile."

She could feel her skin grow cold but she hoped it didn't show under her makeup or that it would be attributed to nervousness at working with such a legend. "Why?" It came out perhaps a bit more sharply than she'd intended but Ardon didn't catch it anyway.

"Well, of course _I_ don't have all the details but it looks like you two are supposed to be working together on some Chinese stuff. You both have a lot of experience at that."

She frowned at the racial trait she hadn't been able to disguise. She hadn't been able to hide that from WuFei like she had her eye color and her pigtails.

Ardon saw the frown. "What? Aren't you excited?"

"I uh...didn't know he was scholarly inclined." She adlibbed.

"That's where you would be wrong Preventor Chin. It does not do for a Preventor to make assumptions." A stern voice came from behind her.

She refused to let him bother her and turned slowly, not willing to give him the upper hand. "It wasn't an assumption. It was an educated guess. For someone who spent as much time away from home as yourself, the time available for learning about culture and language or other pursuits would be curtailed."

He inclined his head, acceding to her point. "True, but I went away to school before the war."

"It's too bad you had to give that up." And she realized that it _was_ too bad, for he had always loved learning so.

"I do not regard it as a sacrifice." He said gravely and she looked at him in confusion, for she knew that he had been so upset before to give up his studies to return home and marry her.

At her look of puzzlement, he elaborated. "Someone once told me that learning was a waste-that one should be a warrior and, in effect, make history not learn it."

Those words hummed along her skin, leaving her cold. She recognized those prideful words, those childish and immature barbs from a girl who did not want to be constrained any more than he did. If she could have, she would have ripped those words from the pages of history then, destroyed those words that had made him think it was ok to leave behind even a little bit of joy.

"Once I held that to be true." She said softly. "But now I know that the universe also needs people to tell us how to avoid problems made in the past and how to learn from that."

"But that also is making history, not learning it."

"One has to learn history to know how to make it responsibly."

"Doing what you feel is right will lead you to the responsible and right choice." He argued.

"Not if you aren't informed entirely of the situation." She said defiantly, refusing to budge.

"But each new situation has new complications and considerations."

The argument was starting to get a bit heated and Ardon, who had been trying hard to be unobtrusive, stirred. "Umm...so what are you guys working on anyway?"

That effectively broke the tension and WuFei looked over at Ardon, then looked back at Meiran. He had a small enigmatic smile halfway on its way to becoming a smirk. "Stubborn, aren't you?"

His abrupt good nature threw her off balance for a moment. She'd expected him to stay angry like he had when they were younger, staying upset from the argument for a long time. "I do not retreat."

He quirked his eyebrows at this but didn't respond. Instead he looked over at Ardon again. "We'll be taking our leave of you Preventor Kain." His tone was formal again as he said this and turned to the door, expecting Meiran to follow. It was so like him, so imperious and presuming, that she wanted to be mad but couldn't really find anything wrong with it that she could complain about. Instead she just bit the inside of her cheek and followed him out.

_Author's Note: Thanks so much for all the reviews! I'm certainly going to have to go back and do some editing since I got so many helpful comments. Please keep reviewing since it makes me so happy and helps me so much!_


	5. Chapter Five

They were to be investigating a heavily Chinese financial group that was suspected of being a front for an anarchist military group, the Chinese language and cultural references being used to disguise any non-legal dealings.

"Wouldn't Preventor Sally Po be a better choice than me?" Meiran asked curiously, knowing the other woman by reputation.

WuFei looked up from where he'd been scrutinizing a computer print-out. He had been squinting at it and she watched the lines smooth at the corners of his eyes as he focused on her. "Sally is already undercover with the operation. This isn't merely a two person investigation." He turned his attention back to the print-out, squinting fiercely at it again.

"You forgot your glasses." She remarked absently, her own attention returned to the information before her.

She missed his startled glance. She should not have known he wore glasses but after a moment he shrugged it aside. Quite a few people had learned a great deal about him due to the publicity that came with being a Gundam pilot. He reached into a drawer and pulled out the glasses, setting them on the end of his nose. Meiran tried not to look but her hands were itching to shove those lenses higher, just as she'd always wanted to do.

He caught her look. "What?"

"Nothing." She knew her voice had a slight hint of bitter sadness. After a second she found she couldn't keep quiet as she'd meant to. "You just...look a lot like someone I used to know."

"Oh." He didn't ask anything. It was the sort of inquiry that didn't go well after a war where so many had died. She was glad he didn't ask, for she wouldn't have known what to say. Instead, she let her eyes fall back to the paper in front of her and the line of print that her eyes had passed over at least three times before without actually seeing it.

Silence fell between them, broken only by the sounds of the paper shuffling or when one of the memos posted to the wall finally gave up its tentative gluey hold and slid noisily down to the floor. Neither of them got up to replace it, although the sound of it falling had been so loud and disturbing in the quiet office. Somehow the sound of that paper hitting the floor seemed to echo through the air even when there was nothing but quiet again, the memory of the sound almost a tangible thing.

"Duo's found out about your birthday." The voice came without prelude or warning.

Both of them looked up, surprised, to meet the cool gaze of the green eyed man leaning against the door jam.

WuFei sighed in resignation. "I knew it wouldn't be long. Trowa, this is Mary Chin. Mary, this is Trowa Barton." She nodded her greeting and looked away from those too-clever eyes.

"Mary is not a Chinese name." he commented. But Trowa Barton never idely commented. His words always served a point, a purpose.

"Sally isn't a very Chinese name either, is it?" she retorted, hoping her voice was calm enough and that her eyes didn't reveal her untruths.

"What's Duo getting me this time?" WuFei asked, interrupting whatever Trowa might have said. His tone was one of amused affection and tolerance.

"A kitten. You're going to want to name it fast. He's already calling it Nataku for you." Without changing his expression any, somehow Trowa was smirking.

"_Na-Nataku?" _Meiran choked out before she could catch herself.

"Yes. Why?" WuFei's voice had gone hard and dangerous.

"It's...isn't it...I mean, it's a rather strong name for a _cat_, don't you think?" And she hoped her voice didn't tremble, that he wouldn't see the tears behind her eyes that he had thought so little of her that he would name a cat the name he had promised to her. But perhaps even a _cat_ had deserved the name over her.

WuFei nodded decisively. "You are correct. I will have another name ready for when Duo "surprises" me. Thank you Trowa."

Trowa nodded once and, with one more searching look at Meiran, left his post at the doorjam.

After that, the silence resumed between the two agents except for one of them asking the other to pass a different set of documents or asking for confirmation on one piece of information or another. Finally the day came to a close and WuFei stood, indicating that she could leave.

"I will see you tomorrow Preventor Chin." He had gone back to being politely formal again.

She nodded and stacked her papers neatly, leaving the office but she knew she wasn't going home. She kept seeing some amorphous ideal of catness in her mind, a cute blue collar with a bell and a tag with her name. She found her feet leading her to the gym that Ardon had showed her that first day, that room where she had first seen the man she loved again. The man who had never felt that way for her.

Angrily she threw a quick roundhouse kick at the punching bag, following it with the sharp jabs of punches, feeling the bag bounce satisfyingly against her rage and despair. She liked the feeling of the sweat making its tickling way down between her eyes, stubbornly refusing to wipe it away.

Don't be weak. Don't be weak. It was a mantra she repeated to herself over and over. As if she somehow had the power to defy gravity and stop her broken heart from falling to the ground.

She had to stop though when her breath came harsh even in her own ears and the trembling of her hands from overwork became too much to ignore.

Trowa Barton was standing beside the bench, holding out her towel to her. She took it without a word and dried off her face, not saying anything. Instead she set the towel back down on the bench and finally looked up, meeting his cool observing gaze.

"Are you going to tell him?" she asked, deadly serious.

Silence stretched between them for a long tense moment. Or at least Meiran was tense. Trowa was calm and implacable as always.

"No."

She narrowed her eyes. "Why not?" The words came out harsh and demanding. Why would he keep her secret? Why keep this secret when he would tell his friend of such a small thing as a birthday present?

But he did not answer her. Instead he just turned and walked away, his shoes somehow noiseless even here in the wood floored, high ceiling-ed gym.

Scowl firmly in place, Meiran grabbed her towel and stormed away in the opposite direction. Men! She would never understand them!

_Author's Note: So I still haven't figured out how to space these things so they're separate from the story (the spaces in my word document disappear online) but hopefully you'll forgive me. Anyway, thanks so much for the reviews! They really make my day. If you have any questions, comments, advice please review and let me know. And even if you don't really have much to say, review anyway! It makes me happy!_


	6. Chapter Six

She left a jade dragon on his desk. A dragon for the last man of the dragon clan. She had bought it last night, searching the closing shops for a birthday present to make up for all the ones she had not known about. They hadn't been together long enough for her to find out before. Or perhaps someone had told her but at the time it hadn't mattered to her. She'd thought she'd have time to learn the date later.

WuFei came in, precisely on time. His uniform was precisely buttoned, the wrinkles ironed out to military perfection. He looked good that way, the color set off his skin tone. With ease born of practice and precision, he sat down at his desk and reached for the computer.

It was then that he noticed the green statue on his desk. Or let himself notice, Meiran wasn't sure which. Curiously he picked it up, letting his fingers explore it, checking the bottom for a note or other form of identification. Meiran knew there was nothing there but the stamp of the manufacturer. He put the statue back down with a puzzled frown and turned to meet her.

"Did you see who left this?"

"Perhaps it was one of your friends." She'd intended to say no but somehow she couldn't add one more lie to her slate.

"No." He mused softly and then shook his head as though to clear it. "What do you have on Madam Hwung?" He was back to business now, focusing once again on the head of the suspicious Chinese corporation. The jade dragon sat proudly in the center of the otherwise empty desk.

* * *

She went to the gym again that night, killing the dummy-man with the carefully patterned attacks she had learned eagerly as a child. She knew peripherally when Trowa came and left. When she heard the door open again she did not look up but continued. After awhile though, when her muscles were warm and loose like butter she looked up and saw Trowa watching her, WuFei at his side. She wondered if he was trying to help her or have WuFei figure it out and make her leave.

"Would you care to spar?" she asked, seeing WuFei's curious testing gaze.

That look in his face vanished with her words and he took on a closed, blank expression. "I do not fight weak onnas."

"I'm not a woman!" she shot back angrily. "I'm N-"She realized in time what she was about to say and stopped.

"You're what?"

"I'm the protecting spirit of peace. I'm a Preventor." She didn't think he would accept. "Surely you've fought women before."

He gave her an appraising look. "No. But I accept your challenge."

It only made her more angry, that he would deny he had ever known a girl named Nataku, ever fought her for Justice. He stepped onto the mat and they bowed to each other. And then, no holds barred, she took her frustration out on the lifelong object of her stress.

She actually held her own for a while, blocking his moves and having hers blocked in return. But after all too short a time she misjudged and overbalanced and before she knew it, she was on the floor looking up at him dazedly.

A fine sheen of sweat clung to WuFei's glowing skin and she was glad she had lost her breathe fighting or she'd only have had to loose it again from the way he made her heart stop. She wished though that his hair had fallen out of the ponytail. She'd liked it down.

He didn't offer her a hand up. Instead he stood looking down on her. "Maybe you can be the protecting spirit of peace."

"But I lost." She was confused. She had expected him to scorn her. And for some strange reason she had expected it to start raining.

"Sometimes the soul knows when it does not have to fight too hard. I once knew a woman who was like that, who was like you. When she was fighting for something that really mattered she could not be conquered."

"What happened to her?" She was curious now about this other woman. The woman she did not know.

"You honor her memory."

She couldn't help the surge of relief that there wasn't some other woman. She knew it was unworthy of her. She didn't deserve WuFei and she wouldn't try for him but still it hurt to think of him with someone else. Who in the wide universe could ever be good enough for him?

But she still wondered who the other woman was.

* * *

_Author's Note: Thanks so much for all the reviews! It's really meant a lot to me. Anyway, I'm sorry for the long wait and hope this chapter was worth it. Please review some more and let me know what you think!

* * *

_


	7. Chapter Seven

After that she regularly squared off against WuFei in the gym. She had thought after that one match that the event would never be repeated, that the headstrong young man would have proved his point and not want to further sully his hands by fighting a woman. He never made any mention of it. He would just walk onto the mat when she was there and bow wordlessly to her and she would bow back and they would practice.

She liked that about him. How when he decided something he didn't need any words. She liked practicing with him. She liked learning from him when he would gently correct her stance or when they were so involved in the patterns that the moves were all that existed in the world, just the flow of muscles and stances, the feel of sweat on her skin, the mat firm and sticking slightly to the soles of her feet. It was there that she didn't have to think, didn't have to worry about _him_. She could just be with him and it was natural and honest and fierce.

She heaved a sigh as she stared into her tea cup. She was on her lunch break and had only just realized that her tea had been cold for at least the last ten minutes. She had been too wrapped in her thoughts to notice.

"Hey Mary! I saw you and Chang going at it last night. Very impressive!" Ardon swung out the chair across from her and turned it around, sitting with his legs on either side of the back and his arms folded across the top. It was a stance completely suited to the carefree man and Mary wondered if he was, like the cheerful Duo Maxwell, an American.

She stirred the tea bag string around the edge of the cup absently. "Yes. He is very skilled." She didn't notice the way her lips quirked up in a tiny delighted smile.

"You sound pretty pleased." He observed.

"It is nice to have such an opponent. It enables one to learn." She wondered if WuFei would be there tonight.

"That sounds like something Q would say." The braided former pilot of Deathscythe had, as was his habit, come around the corner unexpectedly and joined the conversation.

"Q?" Meiran asked, not having heard of a Preventor with that name or designation.

"I'll have to introduce you two. I think he'd like you. Especially once he hears you're the one who's been taking on Wuffers." Duo gave one of his trademark million watt smiles.

"His name is WuFei." Absurdly she felt that she was defending WuFei from his friend.

Duo groaned. "You sound just like WuFei now. He's always correcting me."

Ardon interrupted. "Why would Quatre care about them sparring?"

She filed away the name Quatre for future reference but at the moment it didn't ring any bells.

"You don't know WuFei like we do. Back during the war he wouldn't even fight Noin because he wouldn't fight 'women and bleeding hearts.' Trust me, even Heero was shocked when he heard Wu-man took on Mary."

"I would not allow him to retreat with grace." She shrugged. She _had_ been rather insistant.

"Mary, that guy has ever backed down from anything. If he fought you it was because he wanted to. You've never met anyone as stubborn as WuFei."

She narrowed her eyes and lifted her chin. He would continue his insults. "There is nothing wrong with a determination of spirit. Chang defends his beliefs."

Duo grinned again. "I don't doubt that. Heck, I know that better than any of you. You're pretty stubborn yourself, aren't you? Anyway..." He had been leaning against the wall and now he straightened up. "I'll be seein' you 'round kiddies."

Meiran stared after him.

"What?" Ardon asked, having noted her expression.

She just shook her head. "I don't understand that man. He is a strong warrior yet he acts like a fool."

"Who do you suspect more though? The warrior or the fool?" Ardon asked shrewdly.

Meiran regarded him thoughtfully, knowing then how Ardon could be a Preventor. "I think he is a very dangerous man."

"All five of them are." Ardon turned his eyes to where Duo had disappeared and then stood and left Meiran behind.

* * *

_Author's Notes: Thanks so much for all the reviews I've gotten recently! It's so rewarding to get those little comments. Plus it gives me something to read, because I always look at you guys' profiles when you review. Thanks again and keep reviewing!_


	8. Chapter Eight

She wasn't there long though before Duo came bouncing back with a smaller blonde man following him. There was an amused smile on the blonde's face as he followed his more energetic friend.

"Quatre, this is the girl I've been telling you about. Mary, this is Quatre."

Quatre took her hand and smiled winsomely. "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Chin."

"And you Mr..." She realized she didn't know his last name and so she just trailed off awkwardly.

"Winner." Duo supplied helpfully.

"Oh." She didn't know what to say to that. Quatre certainly didn't seem like the type to be one of the richest men alive.

"I hear you've been practicing with WuFei." Quatre was curious.

Meiran smiled fondly. "Yes. It's been most educational." It was truly the high point of her days.

Quatre rubbed his chest absently and smiled. "I'm so glad to hear that. WuFei's usually stuck practicing alone. None of us ever learned his particular style, so we were no help in that regard."

"Yes, it is a very ancient and rare tradition." She admitted and then regretted it, fearing she'd given away too much information.

Quatre was still rubbing his chest and she wondered if he had a heart condition.

"You ok Q?" Duo asked. "The space heart bothering you?"

"Mmm. A little."

"Space heart?" Meiran asked, confused.

"Yes. I've-" Quatre started but Duo interrupted.

"Quatre, you shouldn't..."

Quatre waved a hand dismissively. "It'll be alright Duo. I sometimes am able to pick up on strong emotions nearby Mary. We call it the space heart."

"Only strong emotions? What about thoughts?" she asked, worried.

He chuckled. "No. Only emotions. I can't read your thoughts."

"Well, what are you picking up?" she asked. Her interest was genuine now since she didn't have to think of her secret.

His brow wrinkled as he concentrated and he blushed. "Erm. Ahh. Love."

"Love? Aww Q. I love you too buddy! Let's run away and have a love child."

"And have Hilde come after me? I think not."

Duo pouted. "You're no fun anymore."

Now Quatre positively smirked. "You could try running away with WuFei. I'm sure he'd be willing to have your love child."

"That was mean Quatre. He'd be liable to take that sword of his to my braid if I even suggested it."

At the mention of WuFei's name Quatre unconsciously went back to rubbing his chest and Meiran realized something. She wasn't safe. Even if Quatre couldn't read her mind, he could read her heart. And her heart most definitely belonged to one WuFei Chang. She wondered how that had happened.

Abruptly she stood. "It was nice meeting you two but I must be going."

"But your lunch break isn't over." Duo protested.

Just then WuFei came around the corner. "Ahh. There you are Chin. Follow me. "And then as an after thought he added, "Please."

She nodded briskly and threw out the dregs of her tea before following him. He actually said please! Inside she was glowing, although she didn't show it on the outside.

Behind her Quatre eyed her curiously, one hand over his heart.

* * *

Meiran followed WuFei into the office they were sharing and watched as he closed the door behind them. She wondered what he wanted to see her about.

"You were correct in your supposition about Madam Hwung." He said without preliminaries. "Agent Po was able to confirm it and a team in now en route to close down the operation."

She nodded. "I'm pleased to hear that."

"As am I. We still have the reports to file but, pending that, this has been a most successful mission. It has been a pleasure to work with you."

"And with you." She just wished it wasn't over. She just hoped they would still be able to practice together. Because, curse her, she was a warrior but she wasn't strong enough to give him up completely. Forever. She just wasn't strong enough for that. She didn't think she ever would be.

"I hope we will be able to repeat the experience again soon." And he bowed to her.

A warm blush spread its rosy way across her cheeks as she bowed in return. By Nataku, by any god, she loved this man!

"I believe Lady Une will want our report in person."

"Of course." She gathered the manilla folders and stacked them smartly, then turned to see if he was following her. He was regarding her with a faint trace of amusement on his face. She lifted an eyebrow in question but he didn't say anything, only fell into step beside her.

* * *

_Author's Notes: Next chapter THE KISS!!! Anyway, thanks so much for all the reviews you guys. This story has definitely been the most fun out of all of the ones I've done because I've gotten such a great response from you guys. It really keeps me motivated. Besides that, it reminds me to post the next chapter-so review please!_


	9. Chapter Nine

She didn't know how it happened. They had been practicing, sparring like they always did. She hadn't meant to ask but somehow she couldn't let him leave without knowing.

"Will I see you tomorrow?" she asked as she crossed to the bench and her things folded neatly there.

From the corner of her eye she could see that he looked surprised and vaguely flattered. "If you wish it."

She hadn't realized how close they were standing and when she looked up she was looking straight into those bottomless eyes of his that always stole her breathe away. "Always."

They were so close. She could feel him with every pore of her body. His eyes were locked on hers and her pulse was thundering through her but she couldn't hear it over the feel of him. She couldn't hear her pulse as his lips brushed so sweetly across hers, soft and firm and achingly beautiful. She felt like the world had just gone away and left her in some fantasy dream.

Abruptly he stepped back and grabbed his towel off the bench as if it were on fire. "I apologize for my weakness. It was a mistake." His voice was bewildered, as if he didn't know what had just happened but it was clear he regretted it.

She bowed her head as her heart shattered one final terrible time. "My fault. I didn't come here to do this." Her voice was scarcely above a whisper.

"No, the fault is mine. I...promised myself to another."

I am a warrior, she reminded herself and so she smiled. "Then I am glad you are happy." And she tried valiantly to really be happy for him as she left the gym.

Then she went back into the office and added the date to the top of the resignation form.

Her bags were packed, the false glasses in the front pouch, the elaborate hair clip beside it. The makeup kit was somewhere in the trash can beside an empty ice cream container because even if Meiran was a warrior, she was also a woman and the traditional comfort food of all women is chocolate ice cream.

Her shuttle tickets were beside his photo on the little desk as she looked at the Preventor uniform hanging in the otherwise empty closet. With ghosting, regretful fingers she lingered over the fabric, smoothing nonexistent wrinkles.

The door buzzer interrupted her thoughts and she went to the door resolutely, grateful for the distraction. Especially since the landlady, who was the only one to bother her, was amusing in her simplistic ways.

But of course it wasn't the Mrs. Morogny. Things never went that easily in Meiran's life. She was starting, finally, to wish they did.

"Mar-"he started, and finished with surprise and disbelief. "-en?"

"Come in WuFei." She said quietly and held open the door for him.

His eyes took in the bags and the tickets on the table but he had already known she would be leaving. "I...came to ask you not to go."

"I won't be in your way WuFei."

"You were only in your own way. I thought I was betraying you. Your memory."

She couldn't help it and she laughed bitterly. "Oh yes. The memory of your cat."

"No! Never! Only a Gundam was worthy of your name, Nataku."

His Gundam? He had named his Gundam after her? It felt like a new bruise on her battered heart. He had cared. She hadn't known.

"Just Meiran. I don't deserve the other."

"Yes. You do." And his tone held no room for argument.

"I was a foolish child with foolish dreams."

"We both were." He took her hand in his. "Don't go."

She wondered how anyone could ever think him cold and hard, emotionless, when his eyes could be so pleading, so earnest. She wondered why she felt her heart hurt again when she saw such a look in his eyes.

"Yes." She said and she couldn't help but smile when she saw him smile.

_Author's Note: Just the epilogue to go now. I hope the kiss wasn't a disappointment to any of those ecstatic reviewers out there. Thanks so much for the great response on the last chapter! I hope you enjoyed this one as much as I did. Anyway, review and let me know. _


	10. Epilogue

Fortunately, WuFei had recruited Duo's wonderful skills to steal back Meiran's resignation form so there was no proof that such a document had ever existed. When she showed back up at work everyone who was aware of the incident, which was a decidedly small number limited to WuFei, Duo, and a secretary, ignored it. Or at least, Duo ignored it insomuch as it pleased him. The braided Preventor had never been known to pass up a joke or an opportunity to tease someone.

WuFei and Meiran went back to sparring in the evenings and started talking over their breaks. She knew what she felt and Duo had confided in her that Quatre "almost rubbed a hole in his shirt whenever Wuffers walked in the room" due to that oh-so-sensitive space heart. But she knew something was bothering WuFei and she knew what it was.

"You never ask."

"I'm not sure I'd like the answer." He spoke quietly, gently, as if it all might disappear if he spoke too loudly. As if she wouldn't be more than a dream.

"I spent years looking for you. But you were always a step ahead of me. I was angry with you for awhile. But I grew up. Will you ask?"

His eyes were dark and serious. "Nataku. Meiran. Do you accept me as your husband?"

And she smiled because he was still asking. "Yes. Do you accept me as your wife?"

"And no one else." He smiled again, that smile she delighted to see. And then, as she also delighted in, he brushed his lips across hers in a kiss that he didn't seem inclined to end.

That wasn't so hard, now was it? Meiran the warrior woman laughed inwardly. Because she never had liked things easy.

_Author's Note: First of all, for the reviewer that sent me the question about the last chapter, no, WuFei did not know she was Meiran when he kissed her in the gym. He only figured it out when he opened the door to her apartment and she didn't have the glasses, make-up, and hair clip._

_Anyway, thanks so much for all of the fantastic reviews I've gotten off of this story. This has seriously been my favorite story to write just because it's been so much fun to know everyone else is enjoying it too. Thank you all so much!_


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